Hey, does anyone collect sports trading cards? If so, what brands and sports do you collect? Just curious, really...
<i>They buy those for the GUM!</i> - Kevin Costner in <i>For Love of the Game</i> Do kids still buy trading cards anymore? As I understand it, the trading card market is not doing so hot right now. The real question should be: Did anybody have one of those awesome baseball card collections that you swear would be worth thousands of bucks today, but your mom "threw them out" when you moved out? Of course, if you had that collection today, you would realize that your most valuable card was an Enos Cabell rookie card worth a whopping $3.75 in mint condition... I used to have some Garbage Pail Kids...now THOSE things were bad ass! My fourth grade teacher that took them from me still has those things, I bet...
I collected sports cards from age 5 to 17. Once I began driving, my attention began turning to other things. I still have most of my cards from my period of collecting. I did sell quite a few of my high-dollar RCs a few years back when I was trying to put together a sound system for my car. I am not sure if I regret it now, though. It seems to me now that if a card is not graded by PSA or BGS, then it isn't of any real value unless it is #'d or special (autograph, game-used bat/ball/jersey/floor, etc.). I still keep up with what is hot through my navigation at Ebay, but still haven't given into the urge to shell out $5-$10 for a pack of 5 cards. Utterly ridiculous! I have thought about just collecting graded cards, but I really don't see getting back into it unless I can make some type of profit doing so. I have never been the type to invest in wax boxes since I am not much of a gambler, but there is money to be made and lost when dealing with wax boxes. In the past, I mainly bought single cards that I thought may increase in value down the road, but these situations are few and far between especially since the induction of the grading craze. So, in short, I contemplate daily about getting back into collecting, but I end up in a standstill. Oh, by the way, Upper Deck was always my favorite!
I recently started collecting Rockets cards only! I have a nice little collection, it's fun and can be expensive! I don't collect from one major company... I collect from whoever has a Rockets card... I don't really prefer a particular brand. rH
Yep, I still collect trading cards. I remember back in 5th grade when they were on fire, I mean you walk on to the bus you better have your binder with you. Oh yeah, I still got some of my gems, but I'm sorry to say that I have lost my Shaq LSU card. I never really relized who that shaq guy was until 94-95 when I looked under my couch's seat cushion and found it all crumpled. My better cards now are some jordans, iverson rookie, Anthony PIG Miller rookie, Glen RICE rookie, Tim Duncan Rookie, Stephon Marbury rookie, Camby rookie, and...... some shiny ones.
This is what sucks about the current market. Everyone is out to make money. There's no love of collecting cards anymore. It's now all about getting the "RC" cards, the autographs, the relic cards, and the autograph relics. Ugh. I deal with this **** everyday. Plus, every trading card company saturates the market with new releases that are essentially the same players and inserts in different card designs. Does anyone collect football cards, by chance? Please vote in my poll.
My mom saved my collection. One day I'll give it to my kids. Sometimes I'll go through it when their eyes light up on a card, I'll let them have it. My kids are REALLY into collecting cards. They keep asking me what cards are worth and I keep telling them whatever someone is willing to pay. I tell them not to worry about the value, just collect a player, team, style, etc. When we go on trips, I'll pick up an old (pre2001) UD box and pass out packs along the way - after I look at them first! Keeps them busy - looking, trading, sorting, etc. On our last trip, one son got a Juan Gonzalez 176/2000 and one son go a 6/10 Mo Vaughn. I also find that it is cheaper to get on ebay and get game used cards of their favorite players because the price of current packs are getting ridiculous. If they want a Chipper Jones (I'm a 'stro fan, they're Braves fans because of our current location), go online and buy a game used card and let them feel the fabric and the bat. That's cheaper than buying packs or boxes and looking for one. What I've seen is that there are very few cards that are a year-in-year-out investments. Some cards that are hot this year will be worth a $1 (if you can find a buyer) in a few years. Collect for fun or be ready to throw down for graded Ruth, Cobb, Mantle, etc. And even that is a gamble.
When I was actively collecting sports cards, I didn't collect for the money that can be made. It wasn't until I got sick of paying outrageous prices for packs and boxes that I decided that I might as well make some money since almost everyone else is making money off me. I used to pick a person from each sport and try to gather as many of his single cards as I could. This method was rather inexpensive and it took no time to fill my binder with a certain player's cards. I was never really a fan of the "insert" cards that were put into packs, so I collected just the base-set cards. And then, lo and behold, card companies begin distributing #'d base cards and autographed base cards. If you were a person collecting just rookies, then you found yourself paying more money because all these card companies were treating the rookies as though they were inserts by decreasing the odds that you would pull a RC out of a pack even though it is considered a part of the base-set. Translation: More money is trying to be made by the card companies and consequently the dealers who sell the boxes/packs. So, what is wrong with the average consumer trying to make a buck off of his hobby, while still keeping and enjoying most of his collection?
The card industry is an insert monster out of control nowadays. I used to collect cards but the cost is just ridiculous compared to what it used to be. I changed my focus from just cards to autographs and it's much more fun, much cheaper too. When I buy cards I just buy for autograph requests so I'm usually buying the cheaper Topps or Upper Deck MVP cards. I used to have quite the collection of cards but it was stolen and sold off by a family member unfortunately. My best card was a Dan Marino rookie card that I bought for about $15 years ago and now is probably worth a few hundred bucks.
Yes, card companies are out to make a buck. That's always been their livelihood. You can't fault them for it. Hell, it pays my salary. Card companies are reactionary. If someone comes up with a great idea, other companies will follow suit. Card companies also cater to consumers, card enthusiasts, and hobby shop owners. Insert rates are decreased to raise the value of a card. Yet, when that happens, people cry foul. It's a catch-22. Say you pull a Michael Vick rookie card. If a card company prints millions of them, the card will be worthless. Average Joe will be happy to get a Michael Vick RC, but profit-minded enthusiasts will not be. Look at Score in the mid 90s. They printed millions of cards, and those became virtually worthless because everyone had them. You can't have it both ways. Rare is in. If you don't believe me, check out Ebay. Case in point: People are actually starting to collect redemption cards now because they're so rare. They won't redeem the card because the redemption card itself is somehow worth more than the actual card. Go figure. This industry is nuts, I tell you.
The problem is that the card companies create what cards are valuable unlike before when player performance created what cards were valuable. The money in cards has ruined the hobby for millions. I'd just assume go back to the days of no inserts and 50 cent wax packs looking for my favorite players and rookie prospects.
Look at my profile, Rockhead. Okay, I'll save you the trouble... I'm a football editor with a major card company. Before you ask (because I know it's coming), I'm responsible for selecting the players in a set, the pictures, the type of stats, and pretty much everything else on a card. Of course, I do much, much more than that, but I don't have the time to go into detail. I won't tell you which card company, because I'm interested in the outcome of my poll. Consider it research.
Dude! I want YOUR job!! (except for basketball cards) I always wondered who picks the pics and stuff. Way cool dude! I'm jealous! rH
I think the hard thing about collecting football cards is that there are too few cards that are...wow. I personally was disappointed when I'd open football cards as a kid. A few QBs, RBs, FBs and WRs and a handfull of DEs are about the only cards I felt good after opening the pack. Starting Linemen, bad team players, second team and etc players are what I got mostly. Not too many kids have a Noseguard on their wishlist.
I collect 99% basketball. Sometimes I might buy a football or baseball pack if I cant find anything else. I am currently in the process of getting rid of all my basketball cards. I used to collect any and all cards of Grant Hill, Penny, and the Rockets. Now I am just going to concentrate on getting Gem Mint rookie cards of Hakeem, Clyde, Charles, Sam, Horry, Otis, Max, Kenny, Francis, Mobes, Maurice, Griffin and Elie. I personally like Topps the best. I love the Finest and the Chrome series. They usually have the best pictures and the best condition of cards. UD kicks ass with the Spx series. There stuff sometimes is just too normal and they always over saturate the market with like a billion products. Plus the condition of their cards coming out of packs tends to be horrible. Fleer is just average. Keep in mind I have not been seriously collecting cards for about two years now. So things might have changed a little bit. I still buy packs, but not as much as I used too. I have the worst luck for busting open packs in the history of mankind
You're right. This year's rookie class, according to hobby insiders, was kind of "meh" (after Michael Vick, of course). There are no real "wow" players this year, collecting-wise, after Vick (and possibly Brees and Tomlinson). In order to keep pace with other companies, I've been forced to add tons of rookies to each product, thereby increasing the odds that the average consumer will get defensive rookies or scrubs. So when you open a pack/ box of football cards, you'll most likely end up with defensive players drafted in the 6th round. This, unfortunately, cannot be helped when you have over 100 rookies in a product (or more). How many good offensive rookies are there anyway? Look at this year's draft. How many teams went with defensive help in the 2001 draft? Defensive rookies don't sell your product (but they should be in there anyway)... Consumers want more rookies, more autographs, and more relics. We are merely trying to give 'em what they want. It's approaching a frenzy, chaotic level, I tell ya. So... what do you want, anyway? I'm thinking up ideas for next year's football releases. This poll disturbs me.
